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Jason Johnson best at Battleground for another ASCS Gulf South sprint car win

Jason Johnson completed a sweep of the weekend’s American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region action by racing to victory lane in Saturday night’s 25-lap feature at Battleground Speedway.

After starting fourth, Johnson chased down early leader Michael Dupuy on the 15th round en route to his fifth ASCS Gulf South win and eleventh overall ASCS triumph of the season aboard the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim.

Johnson was chased to the checkered flag by Dupuy, with Channin Tankersley, Ray Allen Kulhanek and Aaron Reutzel rounding out the top five.

Tommy Bryant was sixth, with Logan Bledsoe, Greg Rilat, Brandon Berryman and Gary Watson completing the top ten.

Bledsoe, Watson and Dupuy topped heat race action, with Michael McNeil winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Results from Battleground Speedway:

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 2. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 8-Bruce Crockett, 4. 69-Larry Howery, 5. 51s-Beau Smith, 6. 15T-Travis Elliott, 7. 7-Michael McNeil, 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 65-Skip Wilson.

Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 19-Klint Angelette, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 30x-Bean Elliott, 8. 36-John Pate, 9. 24-Brandie Jass.

Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 2. 85-Tommy Bryant, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 51w-Wes Miller, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 53-Trey Schmidt, 8. 28-James Cooper.

“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 7-Michael McNeil, 2. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 3. 53-Trey Schmidt, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 36-John Pate, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 24-Brandie Jass, 8. 28-James Cooper.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 3x-Michael Dupuy, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 85-Tommy Bryant, 7. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 8. 35-Greg Rilat, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman, 10. 3-Gary Watson, 11. 19-Klint Angelette, 12. 36-John Pate, 13. 51w-Wes Miller, 14. 69-Larry Howery, 15. 30x-Bean Elliott, 16. 7-Michael McNeil, 17. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 18. 52-Roger Oakes, 19. 53-Trey Schmidt, 20. 15T-Travis Elliott, 21. 51s-Beau Smith, 22. 93-Chris Sweeney, 23. 65-Skip Wilson, 24. 8-Bruce Crockett.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,880 2. Tommy Bryant 1,760, 3. Brandon Berryman 1,717, 4. Aaron Reutzel 1,701, 5. Travis Elliott 1,567, 6. Chris Sweeney 1,483, 7. Scottie McDonald 1,462, 8. Wes Miller 1,445, 9. Beau Smith 1,386, 10. Logan Bledsoe 1,378.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Gulf South photo

Tommy Bryant bags ASCS Gulf South sprint win at Golden Triangle

Tommy Bryant bagged his second American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region win in a row by cracking victory lane in Friday night’s 25-lap main event at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

After leading the initial nine rounds from the pole position, Bryant reclaimed the lead from Channin Tankersley on the 16th circuit en route to his sixth career ASCS Gulf South triumph.

Bryant took the checkered flag aboard Jerry Bell’s Eckley-powered Alco Automotive/Smiley’s Racing Products No. 85 Eagle, with current ASCS Gulf South points leader Ray Allen Kulhanek, Michael Dupuy, Gary Watson and a late-moving Brandon Berryman rounding out the top five.

Bruce Crockett was sixth, with Travis Elliott, Jimmy Brooks, Chris Sweeney and Larry Howery completing the top ten.

Brooks, Aaron Reutzel and Watson topped heat race action, with Greg Rilat winning the “B” Main.

ASCS Gulf South Region Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 2. 85-Tommy Bryant, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 35-Greg Rilat, 7. 52-Roger Oakes, 8. 5c-Chris Coker.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 14-Michael Lang, 3. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 69-Larry Howery, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 88-Scottie McDonald.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 51w-Wes Miller, 3. 00-Michael Dupuy, 4. 85x-Jerry Bell, 5. 28-James Cooper, 6. 15T-Travis Elliott, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 35-Greg Rilat, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 51s-Beau Smith, 5. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 6. 88-Scottie McDonald, 7. 28-James Cooper, 8. 52-Roger Oakes. DNS: 5c-Chris Coker.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 85-Tommy Bryant, 2. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 3. 00-Michael Dupuy, 4. 3-Gary Watson, 5. 31-Brandon Berryman, 6. 8b-Bruce Crockett, 7. 15T-Travis Elliott, 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 93-Chris Sweeney, 10. 69-Larry Howery, 11. 51s-Beau Smith, 12. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14. 71-Channin Tankersley, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 51w-Wes Miller, 17. 85x-Jerry Bell, 18. 14-Michael Lang, 19. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 20. 88-Scottie McDonald.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Ray Allen Kulhanek 1,093, 2. Brandon Berryman 1,046, 3. Aaron Reutzel 1,038, 4. Tommy Bryant 1,027, 5. Scottie McDonald 944, 6. Travis Elliott 901, 7. Chris Sweeney 858, 8. Wes Miller 834, 9. Greg Rilat 816, 10. Logan Bledsoe 765.

by Lonnie Wheatley
ASCS Photo

ASCS Gulf South headed to Golden Triangle and Houston Raceway Park this weekend

After a pair of idle weekends to regroup after a Memorial Day triple, the ASCS Gulf South Region fires back to action with the second of three scheduled Golden Triangle Raceway Park – Houston Raceway Park weekend doubles.

On Friday night, the series makes its third stop of the year at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park before moving on to Baytown’s Houston Raceway Park on Saturday night for a $3,000 to win tilt.

Riding the strength of six top-tens in eight feature runs, including five consecutive top-five finishes, 2005 ASCS Gulf South champion Ray Allen Kulhanek of Montgomery, TX, carries the points lead into the weekend.

The winner of last year’s June event at Houston Raceway Park, Kulhanek holds a 17-point edge over defending series champion Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, with two-time Gulf South kingpin Brandon Berryman of Missouri City, TX, just another ten points back in third.

Conroe’s Tommy Bryant enters the weekend ranked fourth, with New Caney’s Scottie McDonald rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the current top ten in ASCS Gulf South points includes Travis Elliott (Alvin), Chris Sweeney (Channelview), Wes Miller (Santa Fe), Greg Rilat (Texas City) and Eric Baldaccini (Keller).

Seven different drivers have cracked ASCS Gulf South victory lane in eight events thus far in 2010, with only Jason Johnson doubling up. Single wins have been claimed by Berryman, Bryant, Gary Wright, Brian Brown, Kent Lewis, Jr., and Chris Morgan. Morgan topped the most recent event at Golden Triangle with a last-corner pass of Skip Wilson, while Jason Johnson won the initial Houston Raceway Park event of 2010.

Friday’s racing action at Golden Triangle Raceway Park goes green at 8:00 p.m., while Saturday’s card at Houston Raceway Park fires off at 7:00 p.m.

Golden Triangle Raceway Park is located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 near Beaumont, TX. For more information, contact the track at 409-752-7200.

Houston Raceway Park is located east of Houston on I-10 to Exit 798, then three miles south on State Road 146, then 0.8 miles southeast on FM 1405, then 1.5 miles northeast on FM 565. For more information, contact the track at 281-383-7223.

The ASCS Gulf South Region is slated for 27 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2010.

In its 19th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the American Sprint Car Series brings the best of Sprint Car racing to approximately 100 different tracks throughout 30 states and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
5/28/10 – Chris Morgan
3/5/10 – Gary Wright
10/2/09 – Channin Tankersley
9/18/09 – Jason Johnson
7/17/09 – Aaron Reutzel
6/19/09 – Travis Rilat
5/16/09 - Gary Wright
5/16/09 - Tommy Bryant (4/24 Makeup Feature)
3/6/09 - Gary Wright
8/15/08 - Channin Tankersley
7/18/08 - Gary Watson
5/9/08 - Channin Tankersley
2/29/08 - Jason Johnson
9/28/07 - Jason Johnson
6/22/07 - Michael Dupuy
5/18/07 - Brandon Berryman
4/6/07 - Jason Johnson
9/29/06 - Kevin Ramey
8/18/06 - Jason Johnson
6/23/06 - Gary Watson
8/19/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
6/17/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/15/05 - Travis Rilat
9/18/04 - Kelly Angelette
7/9/04 - Stephen Chevallier
* 9/28/02 - Michael Dupuy
* 9/27/02 - Tim Crawley
7/5/02 - Buddy Bodden
5/24/02 - Jason Johnson
* 4/5/02 - Zach Chappell

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Houston Raceway Park:
4/3/10 – Jason Johnson
9/19/09 – Gary Wright
7/18/09 – Kevin Ramey
6/20/09 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
5/16/09 - Eric Baldaccini
9/27/08 - Jason Johnson
6/21/08 - Michael Dupuy
5/10/08 - Brandon Berryman
3/1/08 - Jack Dover
9/29/07 - Brandon Berryman
8/18/07 - Travis Rilat
5/19/07 - Johnny Miller
9/30/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
8/19/06 - Brad Best
6/24/06 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/8/06 - Travis Rilat
8/20/05 - Lane Whittington
6/18/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
7/10/04 - Kevin Ramey

* - Indicates events held in conjunction with ASCS National Tour.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley
TWC photo

Robert Ballou bags ASCS Wingless Sprint Car win at Houston Raceway Park

Race fans in the Lone Star State hadn’t been exposed to the thrills of traditional Sprint Cars in over two decades.

They won’t forget what they witnessed in the return of 410-ci wingless Sprint Cars to Texas any time soon, as Robert Ballou edged Jesse Hockett and Brady Bacon in a thrilling three-wide charge to the checkered flag in Saturday night’s season-opening 30-lap Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless main event at Houston Raceway Park after Friday’s scheduled opener at Beaumont was rained out.

Ballou’s seventh career Sprint Bandits TNT triumph aboard Dallas Mulvaney’s MPHG Promotions No. 81 Triple-X seemed a longshot at best after getting upside down in a wild heat race incident.

“It bent the front end over a good inch-and-a-half or so, we just got it back together as good as we could,” Ballou explained. “I really don’t know how it worked so well in the feature.”

After heat race and qualifying race action, the Rocklin, CA, native that now calls Indiana home found himself seven rows deep in the 13th starting position with Travis Rilat and reigning TNT champion Brady Bacon leading the way to the green flag.

Ballou was joined deep in the field early on by Hockett, who spun in turn four while running third on the third lap, thus setting the stage for what ultimately proved to be a three-wide scramble off the final corner for the checkered flag and $3,000 winner’s share that went with it.

Rilat, who first won his heat race and then made a last corner pass of Justin Melton to win his qualifier to earn the pole aboard the www.shoptheboss.com No. 50off entry, gunned into the early lead and paced the early laps in front of Bacon.

Casey Shuman moved past Ray Allen Kulhanek for third by the fifth round but surrendered the position under a lap eight stoppage with a broken fuel line. Shuman rejoined the field at the tail, only to have a similar problem end his race after 19 laps.

The feature’s initial red flag appeared for Jimmy Brooks, who jumped the cushion and went for a wild ride in turn two with eight laps in the books. On the restart, fourth-running Justin Melton did the same in turn three to bring out another red flag. Both drivers were uninjured.

Ballou was up to fourth after the pair of red flags and disposed of Kulhanek for third soon after action resumed, with Hockett steadily working his way through the field as well with Rilat and Bacon leading the way.

Bacon began pressuring Rilat for the lead at the midway point and never eased up, with Ballou joining in on the lead battle after the race’s final caution flew for Shuman on the 19th lap.

The battle soon became a four-way joust for the point, as Hockett charged past Matt Sherrell for fourth on the lap 19 restart and set his sights on the lead.

Rilat fended off his trio of challengers as long as he could until Bacon finally battled in front on the 23rd lap with Ballou and Hockett following suit over the next pair of rounds. “We made some changes on that red flag to try to loosen the car up and we just weren’t as good after that,” Rilat explained afterward.

With Bacon sticking to the low side in Mike and Megan Eubanks’ Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, Ballou pounded the cushion in an effort to edge ahead as Hockett stuck the VKCC Motorsports No. 75 in the middle of the battle.

“I went for a tearoff with about five to go and there weren’t any left, so I just used my hand to clear my shield as much as I could, I just had to go for it up there,” Ballou explained.

Ballou finally edged ahead exiting turn four to take the white flag, setting up an epic final-lap duel. The trio diced for the top position over the final 3/8 of a mile, racing in formation off the final corner with Ballou mere inches ahead of Hockett, who was in turn perhaps a foot ahead of Bacon.

Hockett narrowly missed out on the spin-and-win, while Bacon fell one win off Ballou’s TNT total after the pair entered with six wins each.

“I was thinking it was about time to go to the top, I was about to go up there and then it was too late,” Bacon explained afterward.

Rilat slipped to fourth at the stripe, while Matt Sherrell rounded out the top five in just his second career wingless 410-ci Sprint Car outing.

Zach Chappell was sixth, with Ray Allen Kulhanek in seventh after racing among the top five much of the way.

Illinois shoe J.C. Bland edged Anthony Nicholson at the stripe for eighth, with Nicholson’s trip from Memphis netting a $500 bonus as the top-finishing 360-ci powerplant to bring his night’s take to more than $1,000.

Jake Simmons completed the top ten.

Nicholson and Rilat won the heat races, with Shuman and Rilat topping the qualifying races.

The Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless series returns to action next Friday night, May 7, at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, before moving on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway for the TNT Front Row Challenge on Saturday night, May 8.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits Tour ‘N Topless Results
Houston Raceway Park:

Heat Races:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. 11-Justin Melton, 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 7. 7s-Jake Simmons, 8. 17-Channin Tankersley, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 98-J.C Bland, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 10x-Casey Shuman, 5. 2-Wayne Johnson, 6. 35-Matt Sherrell, 7. 81-Robert Ballou, 8. 99x-Leon Bacon. DNS: 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Qualifying Races:

Qualifier One (8 Laps): 1. 10x-Casey Shuman, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 35-Matt Sherrell, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 98-J.C. Bland, 7. 81-Robert Ballou, 8. 99x-Leon Bacon, 9. 17-Channin Tankersley.

Qualifier Two (8 Laps): 1. 50-Travis Rilat, 2. 11-Justin Melton, 3. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 7s-Jake Simmons, 7. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 8. 2-Wayne Johnson. DNS: 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Houston Raceway Park Sprint Bandits TNT Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 81-Robert Ballou, 2. 75-Jesse Hockett, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 50-Travis Rilat, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 5*-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 8. 98-J.C. Bland, 9. 16-Anthony Nicholson, 10. 7s-Jake Simmons, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 10x-Casey Shuman, 13. 11-Justin Melton, 14. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 15. 2-Wayne Johnson, 16. 99x-Leon Bacon, 17. 17-Channin Tankersley, 18. 8tw-Kent Lewis, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Travis Rilat 1-22, Brady Bacon 23-28, Robert Ballou 29-30.

Lucas Oil Sprint Bandits TNT Points (Top 10): 1. Robert Ballou 150, 2. Jesse Hockett 142, 3. Brady Bacon 135, 4. Travis Rilat 130, 5. Matt Sherrell 125, 6. Zach Chappell 122, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 119, 8. J.C. Bland 116, 9. Anthony Nicholson 113, 10. Jake Simmons 110.

By Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS

Jason Johnson Cashes in with ASCS Gulf South win at Houston Raceway Park

Jason Johnson got a much-needed win by wiring the field in Saturday night’s 25-lap American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region main event to top the Inaugural Lone Star Shootout at Houston Raceway Park.

The Ragin’ Cajun’s 23rd career ASCS Gulf South triumph and 73rd overall ASCS victory was the first for the newly-formed Jason Johnson Racing team in just its second night of competition after debuting in the recent Lucas Oil ASCS National opener.

While Johnson paced the field all the way aboard the Don Ott-powered Haynes/Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim, he withstood mid-race pressure from Travis Rilat and then a late charge from Gary Wright to secure the $3,000 triumph.

“The first win, this is huge,” an ecstatic Johnson relayed from victory lane.

While Rilat led the feature field to the green flag, it was Johnson gunning into the lead at the outset from the front row outside.

Reeling in the tail of the field in just a handful of laps, a pair of cautions in the opening ten circuits gave Johnson clear track just as traffic was about to factor into the proceedings on a pair of occasions.

But after California’s Kyle Hirst coasted to a stop on the ninth lap, Rilat had an opportunity when Johnson began working through traffic at the midway point.

Rilat closed to Johnson’s tailtank on the 15th round, only to have Johnson make a timely move around a lapped car to slip away by several car lengths. Very soon after, Rilat coasted to a stop on the frontstretch with terminal engine woes, setting up a seven-lap dash to the checkered flag with “The Texan” now in the role of chaser.

A pair of lapped cars between the leader and Wright was just the cushion Johnson needed though. Reaching traffic once again with two rounds to go, Wright rapidly closed the gap on Johnson. But when Johnson made a nimble move through a pair of cars entering turn one on the final circuit, the race was all but over.

Johnson flashed under the checkered flag to take the win and become the third different winner in as many 2010 ASCS Gulf South feature events, with Wright settling for runner-up honors.

After starting eighth, Missouri’s Brian Brown was on the move following the lap nine caution and climbed to third by race’s end with defending ASCS Gulf South champion Aaron Reutzel and 14th-starter Michael Dupuy rounding out the top five.

Brady Bacon charged from 19th to sixth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., 15th-starter Tommy Bryant, Eric Baldaccini and Channin Tankersley completing the top ten.

Kyle Hirst, Bruce, Jr., Baldaccini and Johnson topped heat race action for Saturday night’s 36-car field, with Bacon making a lap 10 move around Chris Sweeney to win the 12-lap “B” Main.

American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Results from Houston Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 6-Kyle Hirst, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 51w-Wes Miller, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 70-Anthony Reaves.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 10-Ricky Logan, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 52-Roger Oakes, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 99-Brady Bacon, 9. 1g-Cody Gardner.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 85-Tommy Bryant, 4. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 61-Travis Knighton, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 8z-Zach Pringle, 8. 3T-Tyler King, 9. 19-Klint Angelette.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 87x-Billy Melton, 7. 28-James Cooper, 8. 3-Gary Watson, 9. 5-Jack Spencer.

“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 4. 87x-Billy Melton, 5. 61-Travis Knighton, 6. 30x-Bean Elliott, 7. 51s-Beau Smith, 8. 19-Klint Angelette, 9. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 10. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 11. 52-Roger Oakes, 12. 5-Jack Spencer, 13. 28-James Cooper, 14. 3T-Tyler King, 15. 8z-Zach Pringle, 16. 3-Gary Watson, 17. 70-Anthony Reaves. DNS: 1g-Cody Gardner.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 9x-Gary Wright, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 8. 85-Tommy Bryant, 9. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 10. 71-Channin Tankersley, 11. 31-Brandon Berryman, 12. 51w-Wes Miller, 13. 88-Scottie McDonald, 14. 87x-Billy Melton, 15. 93-Chris Sweeney, 16. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 17. 61-Travis Knighton, 18. 30x-Bean Elliott, 19. 29-Travis Rilat, 20. 10-Ricky Logan, 21. 6-Kyle Hirst, 22. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 23. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 24. 35-Greg Rilat.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian Brown 404, 2. Brady Bacon 379, 3. Tony Bruce, Jr. 374, 4. Travis Rilat 359, 5. Gary Wright 357, 6. Ricky Logan 341, 7. (tie) Tommy Bryant and Aaron Reutzel 336, 9. Brandon Berryman 324, 10. Wes Miller 321.

By Lonnie Wheatley

Sammy Swindell opens ASCS Season with Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals win

Sammy Swindell kicked off his pursuit of the 2010 Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Sere presented by K&N Filters $60,000 championship by winning Friday night’s 37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals 30-lap main event.

The winningest driver in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history, Swindell stormed into the lead on the sixth round aboard the J&D Motorsports/Swindell Motorsports No. 10 Maxim and never looked back en route to the $6,000 triumph.

Originally slated as a two-day event, encroaching foul weather forced the early cancellation of the Saturday portion, ratcheting up Friday’s event to the standard Lucas Oil ASCS National one-day purse.

And when all the final checkered flag flew, the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars opened the 2010 season the same way 2009 finished out; with Tennessee’s Swindell in victory lane.

Swindell, who closed out the 2009 campaign with a Western World Championships score at USA Raceway, gridded Friday’s feature outside the second row as pole starter Sean McClelland outgunned Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Channin Tankersley for the early lead.

Swindell chased the lead duo for several rounds before racing by Tankersley for second on the fifth round and then disposing of McClelland for the lead on the low side of turns one and two on a lap six restart.

“I was searching around and finally found a good spot to get off the bottom of turn two,” Swindell explained after his fifth career ASCS National triumph.

While Swindell paced the field, fifth-starter Brady Bacon surged past both Tankersley and McClelland for second on the eighth round and set his sights on Swindell.

Bacon reeled in the veteran ace a time or two, only to have a caution slow the pace. Swindell proved much too strong on the restarts and raced to Will Hale’s checkered flag virtually unchallenged.

“I’m still learning these ASCS cars, I was actually getting a little too tight toward the end,” Swindell explained. “That might have been a problem if we’d got into a lot of traffic, but with the yellows we didn’t really run into that.”

Picking up a night in Joe Zierolf’s No. c41, Wayne Johnson rallied from the 18th starting position to fifth in the opening seven circuits. After trading some wild sliders with Danny Wood, Johnson ultimately battled past Bacon for the runner-up slot on the 21st lap and held the position to the line.

Bacon matched his career-best Lucas Oil Sprint Car finish by taking the show position aboard the Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 99 Triple-X, with Wood fourth in the H&H Enterprises No. 94.

Tony Bruce, Jr., rounded out the top five in the Bruce Racing No. 18 Maxim, with defending series champion Shane Stewart charging from 23rd to sixth after utilizing a provisional to start the main event.

Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Ricky Logan, Zach Chappell and Travis Rilat completing the top ten. Austen Wheatley ran among the top ten most of the way until a right rear vibration that resulted from some frontstretch wall contact dropped him to eleventh.

Debuting with his own race team, 2008 series champion Jason Johnson finished 12th after a lap 12 spin in turn one.

Tankersley held down the third position in the main event until a lost muffler prompted the black flag and a race-ending trip to the pit area after seven laps.

Chappell, Bruce, Tankersley, McClelland, Swindell, Derek Hagar and Danny Jennings topped heat race action for the 62-car field, with Jason Johnson, Wayne Johnson and Jack Dover winning the “B” Mains.

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters return to action on Friday night, April 9, at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, TX, before moving on to Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway the following night, April 10.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to “A” Main; Balance to 3 “B” Mains):

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 14-Michael Lang, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 45-Martin Edwards, 6. 91x-Taylor Milton, 7. 15-Bud Goodwin, 8. 30-Brandon Corn, 9. 03-Joe Wood, Jr.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 10a-Ricky Logan, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. C41-Wayne Johnson, 5. 57-Shane Stewart, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 5-Brent Swift, 8. 14e-Todd Evans, 9. 74x-Joshua Hodges.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 24-Justin Carver, 5. 6-Kyle Hirst, 6. 27-Andy Shouse, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 3g-Darren Long.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 00-Michael Dupuy, 4. 75x-Don Young, 5. 35-Matt Sherrell, 6. 72-Sherman Davis, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 86-Josh Fisher. DNS: 5m-Glenn Martin.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. 22-Koby Barksdale, 3. 31-Matt Clevenger, 4. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 8. 9x-Gary Wright, 9. 88-Tim Crawley.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 9h-Derek Hagar, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 9-Brian Parker, 7. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 8. 87x-Billy Melton. DNS: 22k-Kevin Barksdale.

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 1J-Danny Jennings, 2. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 2w-Whit Gastineau, 7. 21-Brian Brown, 8. 14x-Jody Rosenboom.

“B” Mains (Top 2 From Each Advance to “A” Main):

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 57-Shane Stewart, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 75x-Don Young, 7. 72-Sherman Davis, 8. 6-Kyle Hirst, 9. 30-Brandon Corn, 10. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 11. 8w-Jordan Whitehead, 12. 27-Andy Shouse, 13. 9-Brian Parker. DNS: 14x-Jody Rosenboom, 14e-Todd Evans, 5m-Glenn Martin.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. C41-Wayne Johnson, 2. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 3. 5h-Justyn Cox, 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 65-Skip Wilson, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 97b-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 6s-Justin Spoerl, 9. 2k-Whit Gastineau, 10. 35-Matt Sherrell, 11. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 12. 15-Bud Goodwin, 13. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 14. 3g-Darren Long. DNS: 21-Brian Brown.

Third “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 3. 45-Martin Edwards, 4. 91x-Taylor Milton, 5. 98-Joe Ramaker, 6. 88-Tim Crawley, 7. 87x-Billy Melton, 8. 31-Matt Clevenger, 9. 24-Justin Carver, 10. 9x-Gary Wright, 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12. 00-Michael Dupuy, 13. 5-Brent Swift, 14. 22k-Koby Barksdale. DNS: 86-Josh Fisher.

37th Annual Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals “A” Main Event:

“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 10-Sammy Swindell, 2. C41-Wayne Johnson, 3. 99-Brady Bacon, 4. 94-Danny Wood, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 57-Shane Stewart, 7. 75-Jesse Hockett, 8. 10a-Ricky Logan, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 29-Travis Rilat, 11. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 12. 41-Jason Johnson, 13. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 14. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 15. 1-Sean McClelland, 16. 53-Jack Dover, 17. 1J-Danny Jennings, 18. 9x-Gary Wright, 19. 9h-Derek Hagar, 20. 14-Michael Lang, 21. 71-Channin Tankersley, 22. 21L-Trevor Lewis, 23. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 24. 22-Koby Barksdale.

Lap Leaders: Sean McClelland 1-5, Sammy Swindell 6-30.

Note: Shane Stewart and Gary Wright utilized provisionals based on 2009 points to start the “A” Main.

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Points (Top 15): 1. Sammy Swindell 150, 2. Wayne Johnson 142, 3. Brady Bacon 135, 4. Danny Wood 130, 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 125, 6. Shane Stewart 122, 7. Jesse Hockett 119, 8. Ricky Logan 116, 9. Zach Chappell 113, 10. Travis Rilat 110, 11. Austen Wheatley 108, 12. Jason Johnson 106, 13. Kevin Ramey 104, 14. Johnny Herrera 102, 15. Sean McClelland 100.

by Lonnie Wheatley
Photo Lonnie Wheatley

Gary “The Texan” Wright nails ASCS Gulf South win at Golden Triangle Raceway Park

The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region opened up the 2010 season in much the same way as 2009, with Gary Wright standing in victory lane at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.

For the second year in a row, “The Texan” topped the $3,000-to-win, 25-lap Prelude to the Gulf Coast Nationals to launch the season for the ASCS Gulf South Region atop the Golden Triangle clay.

However, rather than wait for the last lap to make the winning move like last year, Wright gunned into the lead at the outset aboard Scott Brown’s ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/The Shop No. 9x Maxim and never looked back en route to a third ASCS Gulf South season opening win.

“As heavy as the track was tonight, it was real easy to get in trouble in traffic or really anywhere,” Wright explained. “We got lucky tonight and stayed out of trouble, we’ll get cleaned up and try to get another one tomorrow.”

A move past Tommy Bryant and Bruce Crockett in the final two laps of his heat race landed Wright in the redraw. And when he drew the number one pill, that may have been all the luck the four-time Lucas Oil National Sprint Car champion needed.

Weathering three red flag periods over the initial four circuits, including a pair on the initial two starts, Wright paced the early circuits in front of fellow front row starter Klint Angelette before Travis Rilat, Ricky Logan and Jesse Hockett freight trained the 16-year-old on a lap five restart.

After one final caution after nine circuits for Dustin Morgan’s turn four spin, the final 16 rounds ran off in non-stop fashion with Wright distancing himself from the field while lapping well into the top ten.

Rilat held off several challenges from Logan over the latter portion of the race for runner-up honors, with Logan settling for the show position. Hockett advanced from ninth in the early rounds to snare fourth, with Tony Bruce, Jr., rounding out the top five.

Brady Bacon crossed the stripe sixth, making it a sweep of the top six positions by prospective Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters championship contenders.

Brian Brown crossed the stripe in seventh, with two-time ASCS Gulf South champ Brandon Berryman the final car on the lead lap in eighth, just ahead of fellow Gulf South shoes Wes Miller and Scottie McDonald.

The initial attempt to start the main event was waved off for a Jimmy Brooks tumble in turn one, with the second start going red as well when reigning ASCS Gulf South champ Aaron Reutzel launched out of the park in turn two. Four laps later, Tommy Bryant tumbled in turn two as well. There were no injuries.

Brown, Angelette, Brooks, Wright and Morgan topped heat race action for the 37-car field, with Berryman and Reutzel winning the twin “B” Mains.

American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 61-Travis Knighton, 3. 93-Chris Sweeney, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 28-James Cooper, 8. 3T-Tyler King.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 19-Klint Angelette, 2. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 15T-Travis Elliott, 5. 74-Brandon Corn, 6. C41-Wayne Johnson, 7. 14-Michael Lang, 8. 35-Greg Rilat.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 2. 51w-Wes Miller, 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 5. 00-Michael Dupuy, 6. 4m-Michael Miller, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 8-Bruce Crockett, 3. 10-Ricky Logan, 4. 85-Tommy Bryant, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 51s-Beau Smith.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 93x-Dustin Morgan, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 71-Channin Tankersley, 4. 88-Scottie McDonald, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 76-John Ricketts, 7. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek.

First “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 93-Chris Sweeney, 3. C41-Wayne Johnson, 4. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 5. 87x-Billy Melton, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 35-Greg Rilat, 8. 28-James Cooper, 9. 51s-Beau Smith, 10. 4m-Michael Miller, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott. DNS: 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek.

Second “B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 85-Tommy Bryant, 3. 74-Brandon Corn, 4. 00-Michael Dupuy, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 76-John Ricketts, 7. 14-Michael Lang, 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 3T-Tyler King, 10. 71-Channin Tankersley, 11. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9x-Gary Wright, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 10-Ricky Logan, 4. 75-Jesse Hockett, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 99-Brady Bacon, 7. 21-Brian Brown, 8. 31-Brandon Berryman, 9. 51w-Wes Miller, 10. 88-Scottie McDonald, 11. 93x-Dustin Morgan, 12. 19-Klint Angelette, 13. 61-Travis Knighton, 14. 74-Brandon Corn, 15. 93-Chris Sweeney, 16. 85-Tommy Bryant, 17. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 18. C41-Wayne Johnson, 19. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 20. 8-Bruce Crockett (DNS).

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 150, 2. Travis Rilat 142, 3. Ricky Logan 135, 4. Jesse Hockett 130, 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 125, 6. Brady Bacon 122, 7. Brian Brown 119, 8. Brandon Berryman 116, 9. Wes Miller 113, 10. Scottie McDonald 110.

By Lonnie Wheatley
Photos courtesy ASCS

Three ASCS Sprint Car Champions to be crowned at the Cowtown Speedway Nationals this weekend

Roger Crockett, Jason Danley, Bryan Howland, Brett Mann and Jake Ossenfort have each already collected ASCS Regional championships in 2009.

Now, another three drivers will be crowned simultaneously at this weekend’s second annual Cowtown Sprint Nationals at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, TX, this weekend.

The ASCS Gulf South, Lone Star and Sooner Regions converge upon the high-banked, ¼-mile dirt oval for two full nights of competition this Friday and Saturday, with Aaron Reutzel, Kevin Ramey and Joe Wood, Jr., leading their respective regions into the weekend double dip.

While Reutzel (134 point lead) and Ramey (167 point lead) both have their Regional point chases virtually locked up, Wood, Jr., isn’t entirely out of the woods yet as Matt Covington is just 30 points out of the lead.

Vying for his first American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region championship, Oklahoma City’s Wood can secure the crown with a solid weekend. However, if things go south for Wood, 19-year-old Glenpool, OK, shoe Matt Covington is right there to take quick advantage.

Fort Worth’s Ramey, a former two-time ASCS Sooner Region champion, needs to do little more than show up both nights to put the wraps on the inaugural ASCS Lone Star championship, while 19-year-old Reutzel of Clute, TX, has plenty of breathing room in the ASCS Gulf South chase after this past weekend’s competition.

The current top ten in each Regional points chase is as follows:

ASCS Gulf South: 1. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 3,170, 2. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 3,036, 3. Tommy Bryant (Conroe, TX) 3,004, 4. Scottie McDonald (New Caney, TX) 2,944, 5. Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX) 2,901, 6. Kent Lewis, Jr. (Willis, TX) 2,877, 7. Greg Rilat (Texas City, TX) 2,837, 8. Ray Allen Kulhanek (Magnolia, TX) 2,699, 9. Gary Watson (Beaumont, TX) 2,676, 10. Jimmy Brooks (College Station, TX) 2,517.

ASCS Lone Star: 1. Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 1,970, 2. Brad Welborn (Princeton, TX) 1,803, 3. Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX) 1,772, 4. Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 1,751, 5. Claud Estes (Godley, TX) 1,737, 6. Michael Lang (Mesquite, TX) 1,704, 7. Matt Clevenger (Flower Mound, TX) 1,626, 8. Scott Reneau (Kemp, TX) 1,606, 9. Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 1,594, 10. John Ricketts (Burleson, TX) 1,508.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner: 1. Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,380, 2. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,350, 3. Donnie Ray Crawford (Tulsa, OK) 1,237, 4. Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO) 1,142, 5. Brad Graham (Springfield, MO) 1,071, 6. (tie) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) and Forrest Sutherland (Cherryvale, TX) 958, 8. Chris Lloyd (Moore, OK) 938, 9. Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 936, 10. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 929.

Friday night’s action, which concludes with a $2,000-to-win main event, is set to go green at 7:30 p.m., with Saturday’s $8,000-to-win tilt firing off at 7:00 p.m.

Cowtown Speedway is located in Kennedale, TX, just east of Fort Worth off I-20 Exit 442-A, then 1.7 miles southeast on Mansfield Highway, then 1.4 miles southwest on New Hope Road. For more information, contact the track at 817-478-9952.

The ninth year of American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region action has consisted of ten events at five tracks throughout Oklahoma as well as Missouri and north Texas. This weekend’s action will be the first Sooner stops of the year at Cowtown.

The eighth year of ASCS Gulf South Region competition has consisted of 23 nights of racing action at nine different tracks throughout primarily southern Texas. This weekend marks the first ASCS Gulf South events of the year at Cowtown Speedway.

The inaugural year of ASCS Lone Star Regional action has consisted of 14 nights of competition at nine different tracks primarily throughout northern Texas, including three events at Cowtown Speedway.

After a stretch of nine different winners in as many ASCS Regional events at Cowtown Speedway over the course of 2007 and 2008, Kevin Ramey was within a lap of sweeping this year’s three Lone Star events at Cowtown. After victories on April 4 and June 27, only last-lap contact with Travis Rilat that sent Ramey out of the park denied the hat trick on August 29. Instead, it was Rilat taking his fourth career ASCS Regional win atop the Cowtown dirt oval.

Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Cowtown Speedway:
8/29/09 – Travis Rilat (Lone Star)
6/27/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)
4/4/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)
10/11/08 – Brian Brown (National vs. Sooner)
10/10/08 – Gavin Punch (National vs. Sooner)
8/23/08 – Kolt Walker (Gulf South)
7/26/08 – Brad Welborn (Sooner)
5/17/08 – Gary Taylor (Sooner)
4/5/08 – Travis Rilat (Sooner)
9/15/07 - Nick Smith (Sooner)
7/7/07 - Brian McClelland (Sooner)
4/14/07 - Kevin Ramey (Sooner)
9/23/06 - Travis Rilat (Sooner)
6/10/06 - Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sooner)
4/8/06 - Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sooner)
9/24/05 - Travis Rilat (Sooner)
6/25/05 - Jason Martin (National vs. Sooner)
4/9/05 - Sean McClelland (Sooner)
9/25/04 - Andy Shouse (Sooner)
5/29/04 - Kevin Ramey (Sooner)

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Channin Tankersley wins ASCS Gulf South feature at Golden Triangle after Tommy Bryant’s DQ

The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region made its seventh and final stop of the 2009 season at the Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday night, and well after all the dust had settled it was Channin Tankersley taking his first series win of the year.

While the 18-year-old from Highlands, TX, was awarded his fourth career ASCS Gulf South victory, it only came after apparent victor Tommy Bryant was disqualified after the use of illegal fuel additives was detected in post-race inspection.

While Bryant’s wire-to-wire drive from the pole position proved to be all for naught in post-race inspection, Tankersley’s battle past Kent Lewis, Jr., on the 15th round proved to be the race-winning move aboard the Tim’s Engines Griffith Truck & Equipment/Highlands Kawasaki No. 71 Maxim.

Lewis, Jr., settled for runner-up honors, with Ray Allen Kulhanek taking the show position. Eric Baldaccini raced from 11th to fourth, with Klint Angelette rounding out the top five for his first career ASCS top-five finish.

Combined with Bryant’s disqualification, Aaron Reutzel virtually locked up the ASCS Gulf South championship with an eighth place finish.

Bryant and Travis Elliott won Friday night’s heat races.

ASCS Gulf South Results from Golden Triangle Raceway Park:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 2. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 3. 31-Brandon Berryman, 4. 30x-Bean Elliott, 5. 88-Scottie McDonald, 6. 17c-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 8. 3-Gary Watson.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 15T-Travis Elliott, 2. 71-Channin Tankersley, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 7. 25g-Steve Hubbard.

“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 1b-Kent Lewis, Jr., 3. 17c-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 19-Klint Angelette, 6. 31-Brandon Berryman, 7. 35-Greg Rilat, 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 9. 88-Scottie McDonald, 10. 3-Gary Watson, 11. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 12. 25b-Steve Hubbard, 13. 15T-Travis Elliott, 14. 30x-Bean Elliott (DNS). Disqualified: 21T-Tommy Bryant.

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Aaron Reutzel 3,170, 2. Channin Tankersley 3,036, 3. Tommy Bryant 3,004, 4. Scottie McDonald 2,944, 5. Brandon Berryman 2,901, 6. Kent Lewis, Jr. 2,877, 7. Greg Rilat 2,837, 8. Ray Allen Kulhanek 2,699, 9. Gary Watson 2,676, 10. Jimmy Brooks 2,517.

by Lonnie Wheatley

Aaron Reutzel takes a diminishing ASCS Gulf South Sprint Car lead into Texas weekend double

He’s been atop the American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region point charts since the fourth night of the season on April 24.

Now, with 22 full nights in the books, Aaron Reutzel’s advantage has been trimmed to just 32 markers by Tommy Bryant entering this weekend’s pair of events at Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park on Friday night and then 105 Speedway in Cleveland, TX, on Saturday night.

This weekend’s twinbill marks the final events before the following weekend’s Cowtown Sprint Nationals, in which the Gulf South forces will square off against both the Sooner and Lone Star contenders.

After a 12th-place run in the series season opener at Beaumont, Reutzel climbed to the top of the point charts and extended his points lead on the strength of an ASCS Regional record of 15 consecutive top-ten feature runs.

At one point during that stretch that included his first career ASCS triumph (Golden Triangle Raceway Park on July 17), the Clute, TX, racer had built as much as an 88-point advantage in the championship points race.

However, in the eleven nights since that June 19 peak, Tommy Bryant of Conroe, TX, has been on a mission, chipping away at Reutzel’s advantage to the tune of 56 points with two of his three victories on the season coming during that span of events.

While both Reutzel and Bryant have penetrated victory lane at Golden Triangle Raceway Park this year, Bryant has finished ahead of Reutzel in four of six events atop the high-banked, 3/8-mile gumbo clay oval, accumulating 36 more points than Reutzel in Beaumont.

Cleveland’s 105 Speedway has been a different story however, where Reutzel has piled up 56 points on Bryant by finishing no lower than seventh in three events atop the semi-banked, ¼-mile clay oval with Bryant yet to crack the top ten.

While Reutzel and Bryant mix it up for the potential title on this pivotal weekend, 18-year-old Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) enters the weekend ranked third with Scottie McDonald (New Caney, TX) and two-time series champion Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX) rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the current top ten in ASCS Gulf South points includes Kent Lewis, Jr. (Willis, TX), Greg Rilat (Texas City, TX), Ray Allen Kulhanek (Magnolia, TX), Gary Watson (Beaumont, TX) and Jimmy Brooks (College Station, TX).

Friday’s card at Golden Triangle Raceway Park marks the series seventh stop of the season in Beaumont. Gary Wright has a pair of GTRP wins this year, with single triumphs posted by Bryant, Reutzel, Travis Rilat and Jason Johnson.

Saturday marks the fourth Gulf South stop of the year at 105 Speedway, where Wright, Kulhanek and Johnson have each posted victories.

Friday’s card at Golden Triangle Raceway Park is slated to get under way at 7:45 p.m., with Saturday’s action at 105 Speedway going green at 7:00 p.m.

Golden Triangle Raceway Park is located 9.5 miles west of I-10 on US 90 near Beaumont, TX. For more information, contact the track at 409-752-7200.

Cleveland, Texas’ ¼-mile, semi-banked 105 Speedway clay oval is located six miles west of US 59 on SR 105, then 0.3 miles north on Fostoria. For more information, contact the track at 281-592-7223.

The ASCS Gulf South Region is set for 26 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2009.

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Golden Triangle Raceway Park:
9/18/09 – Jason Johnson
7/17/09 – Aaron Reutzel
6/19/09 – Travis Rilat
5/16/09 - Gary Wright
5/16/09 - Tommy Bryant (4/24 Makeup Feature)
3/6/09 - Gary Wright
8/15/08 - Channin Tankersley
7/18/08 - Gary Watson
5/9/08 - Channin Tankersley
2/29/08 - Jason Johnson
9/28/07 - Jason Johnson
6/22/07 - Michael Dupuy
5/18/07 - Brandon Berryman
4/6/07 - Jason Johnson
9/29/06 - Kevin Ramey
8/18/06 - Jason Johnson
6/23/06 - Gary Watson
8/19/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
6/17/05 - Ray Allen Kulhanek
4/15/05 - Travis Rilat
9/18/04 - Kelly Angelette
7/9/04 - Stephen Chevallier
* 9/28/02 - Michael Dupuy
* 9/27/02 - Tim Crawley
7/5/02 - Buddy Bodden
5/24/02 - Jason Johnson
* 4/5/02 - Zach Chappell

Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at 105 Speedway:
8/29/09 – Jason Johnson
6/6/09 – Ray Allen Kulhanek
3/7/09 - Gary Wright
7/5/08 - Bryn Gohn
6/7/08 - Brandon Berryman
4/5/08 - Jason Johnson
9/2/07 - Jason Johnson
7/28/07 - Scottie McDonald

* - Indicates events held in conjunction with ASCS National Tour.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

by Lonnie Wheatley

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